The disorderly layout of computer cables for example is a sore sight for many people. Stereo and television systems are also encumbered with intertwined cords wherein it is difficult to find out which cord belongs to which module. The same can be said for battery chargers of laptop computers, portable telephones and personal sound systems; for cords of earphones, UBS ports, and for cords of tools and toys of all kind.
Numerous efforts have been made in the past to develop cord management devices. An exceptionally large quantity of cord management devices has been found in the prior art. These devices are illustrated and described in the following documents:    U.S. Pat. No. 1,673,704 issued to J. A. Palmer et al., on Jun. 12, 1928;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,160,961 issued to G. Dorman on Jun. 6, 1939;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,167,541 issued to W. R. Young on Jul. 25, 1939;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,253,974 issued to T. P. Guild on Aug. 26, 1941;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,351,379 issued to H. H. Wehringer on Jun. 13, 1944;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,533,341 issued to G. Alfano on Dec. 12, 1950;    U.S. Pat. No. 2,746,112 issued to P. J. Simon on May 22, 1956;    U.S. Pat. No. 3,068,316 issued to G. Witt on Dec. 11, 1962;    U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,210 issued to C. E. Ritter on May 14, 1963;    U.S. Pat. No. 3,197,830 issued to R. B. Hoadley on Aug. 3, 1965;    U.S. Pat. No. 3,310,623 issued to M. E. Vaughan on Mar. 21, 1967;    U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,304 issued to M. E. Blais on Mar. 12, 1974;    U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,819 issued to E. L. Lapinskas on Dec. 9, 1975;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,526 issued to C. K. Storer on Jan. 10, 1978;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,924 issued to D. O. Teachout, Sr., on Oct. 28, 1980;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,486 issued to J. V. Osten on Aug. 25, 1981;    U.S. Design D264,045 issued to J. M. Elliot et al., on Apr. 27, 1982;    U.S. Design D275,174 issued to E. Rolli on Aug. 21, 1984;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,268 issued to L. Lerner et al., on Jan. 26, 1988;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,172 issued to C. G. Ward on Mar. 28, 1989;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,614 issued to R. C. Ruhaut on Dec. 25, 1990;    U.S. Design D372,420 issued to S. Mendez on Aug. 6, 1996;    U.S. Design D374,174 issued to M. P. MacClellan on Oct. 1, 1996;    U.S. Design D386,670 issued to R. J. Phillips on Nov. 25, 1997;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,872 issued to M. H. Ginocchio on Mar. 24, 1998;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,676 issued to N. J. Tolan on Sep. 8, 1998;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,684 issued to M. H. Ginocchio on Aug. 15, 2000;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,318 issued to B. A. Glass on Mar. 27, 2001;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,752 issued to S. Koppang on Oct. 16, 2001;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,165 issued to S. Koppang on Jul. 30, 2002;    U.S. Design D464,875 issued to S. Koppang on Oct. 29, 2002;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,503,097 issued to F. Archanbault on Jan. 7, 2003;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,229 issued to T. L. Severson on Feb. 25, 2003;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,063 issued to J. M. Joseph on Oct. 21, 2003;    U.S. Design D488,372 issued to M. G. Gambrell on Apr. 13, 2004;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,523 issued to J. Wei on Sep. 21, 2004;    U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,786 issued to S. A. Bloom et al., on Feb. 28, 2006;    U.S. Pat. No. 7,214,092 issued to G. I. Platt on May 8, 2007;    U.S. Design D544,338 issued to M. N. Christensen et al., on Jun. 12, 2007;    U.S. Pat. No. 7,247,799 issued to K. Mori et al., on Jul. 24, 2007;    U.S. Pat. No. 7,230,181 issued to J. W. Simmons et al., on Jun. 12, 2007;    U.S. Pat. No. 7,318,567 issued to K. Mori et al., on Jan. 15, 2008;    U.S. Design D575,632 issued to J. M. Morelock et al., on Aug. 26, 2008;    U.S. Design D592,039 issued to H. Okuda on May 12, 2009;    U.S. Design D596,013 issued to M. L. Simmons on Jul. 14, 2009;    U.S. Design D599,196 issued to C. Ruffin et al., on Sep. 1, 2009;    U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,661 issued to B. Sween et al., on Nov. 3, 2009;    U.S. Design D604,589 issued to B. Johansson on Nov. 24, 2009;    U.S. Design D608,628 issued to O. Knuuttila on Jan. 26, 2010;    U.S. Design D625,582 issued to R. L. Cleghorn et al., on Oct. 19, 2010;    U.S. Design D629,671 issued to T. Ohori et al., on Dec. 28, 2010;    U.S. Pat. No. 7,868,250 issued to P. Kolada on Jan. 11, 2011;    U.S. Pat. No. 7,882,600 issued to B. T. Judd on Feb. 8, 2011;    U.S. Design D652,710 issued to K. Yokota et al., on Jan. 24, 2012;    U.S. Design D657,054 issued to G. S. Bacon on Apr. 3, 2012;    U.S. Pat. No. 8,203,077 issued to J. Honeycutt et al., on Jun. 19, 2012;    U.S. Pat. No. 8,209,820 issued to J. Aparbal on Jul. 3, 2012;    U.S. Patent Application US2010/0192330 filed by E. L. Walker, and published on Aug. 5, 2010.
It is believed that a large portion of the cord management devices found in the prior art did not enjoy a lasting commercial success. Such a low market response to these devices can be attributed to several factors, including complexity, adaptability, appearance and the level of skill required to use them.
It is believed that there is a market need for a cord management device that has a simple construction, that can be understood at a first glance, and that can be used with minimum instruction.